Favourites Homan, Einarson open Canadian Olympic curling trials with lopsided wins

HALIFAX — Tournament favourites Rachel Homan and Kerri Einarson opened with lopsided wins Saturday in the first draw of the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials.

Ottawa’s Homan, the two-time reigning Canadian and world women’s champion, had a draw for three in the third end and stole four more in the fourth en route to a 16-5 win over Kate Cameron of St. Adolphe, Man.

“I felt like we were learning the ice really well in practice and we came out strong,” said Homan, whose team is rounded out by vice-skip Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, lead Sarah Wilkes, alternate Rachelle Brown and coach Heather Nedohin. “We were making really precise shots and happy to get an early lead. I think they struggled a little bit with the ice, so thankfully we didn’t have to make too many precise ones later in the game.”

Einarson, from Gimli, Man., opened with steals of two in the first end and four in the second in a 12-5 win over local favourite Christina Black.

“I was actually excited (to play Black in the opening draw),” said Einarson, a four-time Canadian champion who finished runner-up to Homan at this year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts. “You get them on (their) first game so they don’t get on a winning streak and the crowd behind them. Our plan was just to take the crowd out of it a little early, and we put a lot of pressure on them in the first half of the game.

“They’re a great team. We’ve had always really good battles with them. It was good to get off to a good start.”

In the other Saturday afternoon games, Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg stole a deuce in the third end and one in the ninth in a 7-4 triumph over Corryn Brown of Kamloops, B.C. and Selena Sturmay of Edmonton stole two in the third and seventh ends in an 8-2 triumph over Kayla Skrlik of Calgary.

In the opening men’s draw later Saturday, Mike McEwen’s rink from Saskatoon edged Winnipeg’s Jordon McDonald 6-5.

Trailing by one in the 10th, McEwen made a draw to the eight-foot for a game-winning deuce.

“I left a lot of points on the board, personally,” McEwen said. “Had a pretty straightforward shot for three earlier on, another shot on eight where I left him a double that I shouldn’t have left him. So, unfortunately, I didn’t perform like I would have liked to tonight.”

“I’ve got to try and keep it light out there,” McEwen added. “Look up (at the crowd), take pauses. Look around and enjoy it. You’ve got to find a way to enjoy it because it is more intense. Everybody, from the players on the ice to the fans in the crowd, there’s a different level of intensity.”

Meanwhile, Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., got out of the gates with an 11-5 victory against Saskatoon’s Rylan Kleiter. Winnipeg’s Matt Dunstone opened with a 6-3 win against John Epping of Sudbury, Ont., and Calgary’s Kevin Koe earned a 6-5 win against the defending Canadian men’s champions, Brad Jacobs, also of Calgary.

The winner of the men’s and women’s competitions will represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2025.